


You Don’t Have To Suffer Alone

by VillainFan42



Series: Pure of Heart, Awakened by Fury [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Childhood Trauma, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Empathy, Female Miqo'te (Final Fantasy XIV), Female Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Past Abuse, Past Relationship(s), Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:08:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24592798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VillainFan42/pseuds/VillainFan42
Summary: Arza stopped what she was doing and followed the distraught young woman out the door, one single thought echoing in her mind and drowning out every other thought:Do not let her be alone.
Relationships: Edda Pureheart & Warrior of Light, Maybe Edda Pureheart/Warrior of Light if you squint, Past Avere Bravearm/Edda Pureheart
Series: Pure of Heart, Awakened by Fury [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1679416
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	You Don’t Have To Suffer Alone

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Nightmare Averted](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8593231) by [rahelawriter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rahelawriter/pseuds/rahelawriter). 



Arza Ra’qael couldn’t help but notice them as she traveled up the path to Satasha. A team of adventurers, still pretty green around the gills if their rather basic equipment was any indication. They were crowded around a panting, long-haired girl dressed in a cheap light brown robe and a pointed hat. A conjurer, if the wooden staff on her back was any indication.

“I-I’m sorry, Avere! I came as fast as I could!” she gasped.

“Bwahahaha! Edda, you’re so slow, you’d lose a footrace to a tree slug.” one of the adventurers, a female Elezan archer, interrupted.

“I tried haggling with the merchant, but two potions was the best I could get with the money you gave me. I had no idea how expensive they were!” the conjurer, evidently named Edda, continued defensively, facing an armored man, most likely this ‘Avere.’

“Ye’ve only ever been as useful as the contents o’ yer pockets─the gods know ye can barely ‘eal a scratch!” he said critically, the girl flinching under his words. “We took up the ‘venturin’ life to take on the big jobs an’ claim the big rewards. How’re we meant to do that if ye can’t even get our supplies in order?”

Arza bit her lip, looking on in pity. The fourth adventurer, a hooded Lalafell, wasn’t joining in to the insults, but didn’t seem overly concerned with defending his teammate, instead mostly preoccupied with the logistics of their mission. It seemed as though they were competition for this same job. Whoever cleared the pirates out of Satasha would reap the rewards. She told herself not to be concerned about them, just worry about doing her job.

But she couldn’t help but feel bad for the conjurer being picked on by her own adventuring party.

So while the warrior and the archer began to discuss something, Arza tapped Edda on the shoulder. She turned around hesitantly.

“Oh, um, h-hi. Can I-”

Arza didn’t let her finish, shoving 3 more potions at her, smiling reassuringly before heading back on her way.

* * *

She didn’t think much of the incident until a few days later. The mission to Satasha had been a smashing success, and she was recommended to the Adventurer’s Guild in Gridania, who sent her to kick some cultists out of some underground tomb. It also went pretty smoothly, despite the cultists summoning monsters from the void.

_Big deal, they can summon Voidsent. They’re not nearly as impressive as the one summoned by that loser with the red mask._

In the end, she wound up back at Gridania none the worse for wear, a few eyes turning as she walked into the Carline Canopy. Arza wasn’t too surprised by the attention. Word of mouth traveled fast, between her exploits in Thanalan and her dealing with those pirates, her fame in the adventuring circle was steadily growing. But as the inn’s proprietor, Mother Miounne, was telling her about the recent upswing in adventurer casualties, their conversation was interrupted by an argument between another group of adventurers standing nearby.

“Avere’s gone, and it’s all your fault!”

Arza furrowed her brow. _Avere… where do I know that name?_

“B-but I tried! He bolted out of range before I could finish the spell!”

The Miqo’te’s eyes widened as she recognized the crying voice, who was currently in a losing battle to defend herself. She suddenly remembered that dysfunctional adventuring party she encountered on the way to Satasha. She remembered that conjurer whose comrades seemed intent on making her job as miserable as possibly.

_Edda…_

Arza turned to see Edda being yelled at by the other two members of the party, all looking various kinds of scuffed up, and Edda carrying a sack of some kind.

“To the hells with this pathetic excuse for a party!” the hooded Lalafell growled, before stomping off. “It’d be too soon if I ever see your faces again. Goodbye, and good riddance!”

Edda was left alone with that Elezen archer whose name Arza couldn’t place.

“I doubt this comes as any surprise,” the archer said with no small amount of venom in her voice, “but I _never_ liked you. I only suffered you for your healing, but you couldn’t even do that one thing right. Cruel though this may sound, you brought this upon yourself.”

Arza scowled at the woman who didn’t sound apologetic in the slightest.

“Oh, and by way of some parting advice…” she continued, “Get rid of Avere’s head!”

_What._

“Bury it, cremate it, do whatever the hells you like with it, but for gods’ sakes, stop carrying it around! Just… just get rid of it, all right?”

With that, the Elezen turned and left Edda and the severed head she was apparently carrying around to their own devices. Arza warily looked at Edda and the sack whose contents she was now painfully aware of, before slowly turning back towards Mother Miounne with a disturbed look on her face, not wanting to get involved with whatever personal problem was on display there.

“Wait! Don’t leave me alone,” Edda cried futilely as the archer stormed out the door, sounding like she was on the verge of a breakdown. “Please! I’m… *sniff* I’m so sorry, Avere… please forgive me…” She hung her head and began to walk out herself, but Arza barely noticed, because she was suddenly a young girl again, watching her mother dragged off by the Immortal Flames, begging and pleading for them not to leave her alone, to no avail.

“Are… you okay? Miss Ra’qael?”

Arza blinked. Miounne was looking at her with a worried expression.

“You looked out of it. Is everything all right?”

The Miqo’te gladiator nodded furiously before turning around just in time to see the silhouette of a girl with a pointed hat against the sunlight outside. She frowned, clenching her hands into fists as one thought echoed through her head, drowning out any other thought she might be having.

**_Do not let her be alone._ **

“I’m fine, don’t worry… I’ll be right back, I just… I have to take care of something.”

Before Miounne could argue, Arza was sprinting back towards the door, drawing the attention of all the patrons of the inn who were already watching the group making a scene.

Arza burst out of the door and looked around frantically, her eyes quickly landing on Edda, her head hung with shame, carrying the sack like it contained the heaviest load in existence, trudging down the road leading out of town.

“Hey, wait! Edda, was it?”

Edda stopped slowly turning around, her eyes glistening and red as she forced herself not to cry. “Hm? M-may I help you?” she wiped her face with her sleeve, blinking to clear her vision before she got a good look at Arza. The Miqo’te began to introduce herself but was cut off with a loud gasp.

“You’re- You’re that adventurer! Arza Ra’qael!”

Arza blinked. “Yeah, that’s me.”

Edda’s surprise wore off quickly as she hung her head again, her eyes drifting to her severed head bag. “Sorry, it’s just… you meant the world to my fiancée… he’d sing your praises, day and night, you were his example of what a true adventurer should be…”

“Your fiancée?”

“H-his name was Avere...”

_Oh. Oh dear._

Suddenly all the pieces began to fall into place for Arza as she remembered how he had treated her, how the rest of her group let it happen and joined in, how she had just rolled over and took it, and she felt a wave of pity.

“I’m really sorry to hear about what happened. If you don’t mind me asking, what will you do now?” Arza asked.

“I don’t know. I’ve been told I’m a lousy healer-” _No you’re not, Avere ran ahead before you could get to him, you said so yourself!_ “-but I can’t just give up here. Adventuring was my life. It was _our_ life. It was all we really had…”

“If you want, you could always come with me,” Arza said before her brain caught up with what she was saying. “I take hits for a living, so it would help to have someone nearby to heal.”

Edda looked shocked before her expression went crestfallen again. “I appreciate your offer, but I wouldn’t be of use to anyone as a healer, let alone _you_ of all people-” _Of course you would!_ “-and besides,” she said, looking down at the bag, “I need to give Avere a proper burial.”

“Yeah, I was meaning to ask about that,” Arza said, slightly less creeped out by the head now that she had more context. Only slightly. “Any particular reason who you only have his head for burial?”

“It was the only part of him left.”

“I see…” Arza folded her arms and began to think. “What about his family? Have you told them?”

The shadow of Edda’s hat covered her eyes as she slowly looked down at the ground, completely silent.

“...Edda?”

“That’s the thing…” the conjurer said finally. “We were both from Albathia’s Spine, you see, and neither of our families really… approved of our relationship. We eloped, coming to Eorzea hoping to make our fortunes as adventurers. But after we ran off to be together, after all that’s happened, I don’t think I can face them…”

Arza bit her lip, wondering how Edda’s situation could possibly get worse. After a moment where neither really said anything, Arza’s face settled into an expression of determination, knowing what she had to do.

“...I think I should come with you,” she said finally.

“B-but Miss Ra’qael!” Edda protested. “I wouldn’t dream of intruding on your business, I’m sure you have more important things that need your attention-”

“No one should have to bury a loved one alone.”

Edda opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She really couldn’t argue with that.

“Once I get my payment for the job I just got back from, I’ll get us a ride to Camp Drybone. We can bury him in the Lichyard there.”

“You…” Edda began tearing up again. “You really don’t have to do this.”

“Of course I don’t. But you.” she pointed at Edda, poking her in the chest. “You shouldn’t have to suffer through this alone.”

Edda couldn’t hold back her tears anymore. She let loose her pent-up emotion, throwing her arms around Arza and began sobbing onto her shoulder, not seeming to care that the Miqo’te was wearing a cold, hard metal cuirass. All she could do was pat Edda on the back.

“Th-thank you…” Edda managed, sniffling. “You’re too kind. You’re every inch the woman Avere said you were.

Ah, yes. Avere. Arza had some opinions about the man. She was quite positive from what she witnessed that Edda’s affection for the man was misplaced. Still, it wasn’t her place to speak ill of the dead. So she simply let the distraught young woman let it all out, not caring about the occasional odd glance she got from passersby.

“It’s nothing, really,” Arza said softly. “I know what it’s like to be alone and abandoned. No one deserves that pain.”

They remained there for a couple minutes until Edda had calmed down. She backed off, looking into her eyes and smiling for the first time since Arza met her.

 _It’s a cute smile_ , Arza thought. _I could stand to see more of it._

Edda suddenly gasped. “I-I’m sorry, I cried all over your armor, I’m-“

“Oh, don’t worry about it!” Arza chuckled. “I found it in a box that was sitting underground collecting dust for who knows how long. I’m not terribly worried about some tear stains.”

“R-right…” Edda composed herself. “Shall we be off then?”

“Of course.”

* * *

As it turned out, Arza’s next job was in Ul’dah, so Camp Drybone was only a slight detour once they checked in on Ul’dah’s Adventurer’s Guild and Arza got her new assignment. It was definitely nice to see Momodi again after her little excursions around Eorzea, though she did get her fair share of teasing for going back on her insistence that she’d never become an adventurer.

Luckily, the clergy who ran the Lichyard weren’t too put-off by Avere’s condition. Of course, working with dead bodies all the time probably meant they’d seen just about everything and were just desensitized to this sort of thing.

It also turned out that burying a severed head was much more simple of a matter than burying a full body, so once the plot was picked out it was a few minutes before an elegant stone disguised the morbid reality that laid beneath.

Edda knelt there, her hat off and to the side, still feeling rather upset, but also like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

After a minute of contemplation, Edda stood up and faced Arza, a look of newfound determination on her face. “Thank you. Truly. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t gone after me.”

“It was the least I could do,” Arza said. “I just saw someone who needed help. And I helped her. Simple as that. That’s what being an adventurer is all about.” She paused, then looked out over the horizon. She had to admit, the view of the desert from this altitude wasn’t anything to sneeze at. “I meant what I said, by the way, about you coming with me.”

“Are you sure?” Edda asked. “It would be simple for a woman of your reputation to find another healer who isn’t as pathetic as I am. I don’t want to be a liability…”

“You won’t be. What happened back there was a horrible accident. Just stick by me and neither of us will have anything to worry about.”

Edda was silent, looking down at the grave, seemingly thinking it over.

“You said it yourself. You want to get a fresh start as an adventurer,” Arza said. “If nothing else, I want to make sure you start off on the right foot.”

The conjurer was silent for a while. Finally, slowly, she returned her hat to her head, a slight smile returning to her face. “Lead the way.”

With that, the two went back down the valley towards Copperbell Mine, Arza feeling relieved that Edda was starting to come out of her shell, never knowing just how narrowly she had saved her from herself. In her old adventuring party, the conjurer was belittled on all sides, including by her supposed love. Of course. Arza wouldn’t vocalize her opinions of her late fianceé, not yet. Those wounds were still fresh. Come to think of it, she’d only ever seen Avere the one time. Maybe they were just having a bad day, maybe Arza was too quick to judge. But she did know one thing: She’d stick with Edda as long as it took for those wounds to heal.

The irony of helping a healer to heal herself was not lost on her.

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to give Edda a hug so badly when she first appeared in the main story, and I was a little upset to learn what became of her. I figured, if I’m telling Arza’s story, I might as well give Edda a second chance.
> 
> If you want to read Edda and Arza’s relationship as romantic, feel free, but remember, Haurchefant still exists.


End file.
